Scissor Sisters are an American pop rock band formed in 2000. The band's current line-up consists of Jake Shears (vocals), Babydaddy (various instruments) and Del Marquis (guitar, bass). Former members include vocalist Ana Matronic and original drummer Paddy Boom. Scissor Sisters incorporate diverse styles in their music, but tend towards pop rock, glam rock, nu-disco, and electroclash. Forged in the "gay nightlife scene of New York", the band took its name from the female same-sex sexual activity of tribadism.
The band came to prominence following the release of their Grammy-nominated and chart-topping disco version of "Comfortably Numb" and subsequent debut album Scissor Sisters (2004). The album was a success, particularly in the UK where it reached number one, was the best-selling album of 2004, was later certified nine-times platinum by the BPI, and earned them three BRIT Awards in 2005. All five of its singles reached positions within the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart while "Filthy/Gorgeous" scored the band their first number one on Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs, despite the album's limited success in their native US.
The album continued its success in countries around Europe, in Australia and in Canada before the release of the band's second studio album Ta-Dah (2006), their second consecutive UK number one album which produced their first UK number one single "I Don't Feel Like Dancin". Their third studio album Night Work (2010) displayed a shift towards a more club-oriented sound, charting at number two on the UK Albums Chart, number one on Billboard Top Independent Albums chart and in the top 10 of several international territories. The band released their fourth studio album Magic Hour in May 2012.
Scissor Sisters has performed around the world and have become recognized for their controversial and transgressive live performances. They also collaborated with a number of other well-known pop musicians, including Elton John and Kylie Minogue; these particular collaborations have been received positively by both critics and other notable figures. In 2004, Bono, lead vocalist of rock band U2, described Scissor Sisters as "the best pop group in the world".Bono, quoted in Hannaford, Alex (2005). Scissor Sisters. London: Artnik. Blurb. They also collaborated with Global Cool in 2007 on one of their green lifestyle campaigns.
History 2000–2003: Early career Originally named Dead Lesbian and the Fibrillating Scissor Sisters, the final two words being derived from the lesbian sexual act of tribadism, the band was founded in 2000 after friends Jason "Jake Shears" Sellards and Scott "Babydaddy" Hoffman (who had met in 1999 in Lexington, Kentucky) both moved to New York City, enjoying its open and gay-friendly ethos. They began producing music together, with Babydaddy composing music and Shears writing lyrics. The duo released a couple of singles to little success and began appearing at underground clubs on New York's Lower East Side. On a trip to Disneyland, the pair met Ana "Matronic" Lynch at a screening of Michael Jackson's Captain EO. During a subsequent teacup ride, they discovered that they had a lot in common. Shears later remarked, "I really thought she was a freak but when I started singing "Another Part of Me" she showed me the best moonwalk I've ever seen."
Ana Matronic ran a weekly cabaret event known as Knock Off at a club called the Slipper Room in New York, where she liked to hire eccentric and alternative acts; one reporter described it as a place that "served up a racy, multigender revue of kitsch," and that a performer dressed as a giant vulva "enfolded me with her labia while singing "Lick Me in My Wet Spot" to the tune of "Hit Me With Your Best Shot"." Matronic invited the pair to appear at Knock Off, which they did on September 21, 2001. Shears dressed as his character "Jason the Amazing Back-Alley Late Term Abortion" whilst Matronic, dressed as a reject from Andy Warhol's Factory, joined the pair on stage and sang. Shears and Babydaddy felt she was very effective and asked her to join the band on a permanent basis, to which she agreed.
The trio then began appearing at other clubs, dropping the word "Fibrillating" from their name. They primarily played electroclash, which was popular at the time in the underground club scene of New York with bands like Peaches and Chicks on Speed. They were soon joined by Derek "Del Marquis" Gruen on lead guitar, who had known Shears from when they both worked at the IC Guys club where Shears had been a stripper. They were joined by a fifth member, Patrick "Paddy Boom" Seacor, on drums who (being heterosexual) felt the need to explain to his mother that "it's not a gay band... there [are] gay members, but it doesn't matter. It's about the music and about performance."
In 2002, the band signed with a small New York record company called A Touch of Class for a two-single deal. Their first single "Electrobix" dealt with gay men's obsessions with working out but proved to be less popular than its B-side, a cover version of Pink Floyd's progressive rock classic "Comfortably Numb". Matronic commented, "It's one of those songs that people were either gonna love or hate, and that's really, really powerful, because it basically means you're evoking a reaction in everyone. The first time I heard it, I thought that if it doesn't make us famous, it'll make us infamous because somebody will shoot us!" Their version of "Comfortably Numb" became a hit in many dance clubs and, after sending Pink Floyd themselves a copy, the Scissor Sisters received positive remarks from the song's original writers Roger Waters and David Gilmour. The song proved to be particularly popular in the UK, where various record labels soon took an interest in the band. In 2003, they decided they would tour Europe where they believed audiences would be more receptive to them and their music than their native US.
2003–2004: Debut album and breakthrough success "Comfortably Numb" came to the attention of British label Polydor, who signed the group to a contract. Their first single for the label "Laura" (with two different music videos) had a limited release in 2003 and reaching number 54 in the UK Singles Chart, receiving little attention with the exceptions of British music paper New Musical Express, Channel 4's entertainment programme V Graham Norton, and the same channel's music programme Popworld for which they were interviewed. The track also received much radio play in Australia. Their track "It Can't Come Quickly Enough" was also included on the soundtrack of the film Party Monster (2003), playing over its ending credits.
Their first hit was in 2004 with the official release of "Comfortably Numb". Reaching number 10 in the UK, this success was followed by "Take Your Mama" which went to number 17, a re-release of "Laura" (with two different music videos) which went to number 12, the ballad "Mary" which went to number 14, and the hedonist anthem "Filthy/Gorgeous" which peaked at number 5 in the UK. All the singles came from their debut album Scissor Sisters, which reached number one in the UK Albums Chart and became the best selling album of 2004, beating Keane's Hopes and Fears by 582 copies. As of 2018, it is the 20th biggest-selling album of the 21st century, and the 35th biggest-selling of all time in the UK.
Several media outlets noted that Scissor Sisters "stick out like a sore thumb" on the list of artists who have sold over 2 million copies of an album in the UK in the 21st century, the others being James Blunt, Robbie Williams, Keane, Dido, Coldplay and Norah Jones—artists considered "mainstream" compared to the Scissor Sisters' brash and controversial image. The band had been particularly keen on producing an album that fitted together well rather than simply producing a string of singles. According to Babydaddy, their purpose was "to create a perfect pop rock album that would pick you up at the beginning, take you on a journey in the middle, and set you right back down again in the same place at the end."
About six months after its British release, Scissor Sisters was released in the US. To publicize it the band appeared on the popular morning television show Live with Regis and Kelly, an event that Shears later recalled: "Kelly Ripa loved us, after the first time we played, she gave me a hug and whispered in my ear, 'I just want you to know that this is my favorite music performance we've ever had.' It was amazing." Nonetheless, neither the band nor the album proved to be a big commercial success in the US: major chain store Wal-Mart refused to stock it, claiming on its website that it contained "a snarling, swaggering attack on conservatism" in the form of the song "Tits on the Radio".
The band refused to produce a "clean" version of the album, and Babydaddy remarked that, "We did have to slap a parental warning sticker on the disc, which is completely absurd. I think a kid listening to Eminem is getting a much more negative message than what we've been putting forward. We've only got one 'shit' and a few 'tits!'" Band members have shown their dissatisfaction with the decision on a number of occasions. However, they continued their success in Europe by performing at the Brixton Academy in London for Halloween 2004, where they asked the audience to dress up as the characters from The Rocky Horror Show; the band themselves did so too.
2005–2007: Ta-Dah Recording of the second album, Ta-Dah, commenced in mid-May 2005 at the Discoball; sneak previews of new songs were played at live performances, including "Everybody Wants the Same Thing", performed at the Live 8 concert, "Paul McCartney", "I Can't Decide", "Hybrid Man", "Forever Right Now" and "Hair Baby" (a title that refers to the phenomenon of tumors containing partially formed fetuses). Among the assumed pseudonyms used to play a series of secret shows to test this new material were "Bridget Jones' Diarrhea", "Portion Control" and "Megapussi". Scissor Sisters were also one of the headlining acts at the British V Festival in 2005, where they collaborated on stage with Scottish rock group Franz Ferdinand to perform a cover version of David Bowie's "Suffragette City".
The band fulfilled one of its dreams: Elton John collaborated with them on "I Don't Feel Like Dancin" (as pianist and co-writer). The song reached No. 1 in the United Kingdom on September 10, 2006, and remained in the top spot for four consecutive weeks. "I Don't Feel Like Dancin also peaked at No. 1 on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart and the Euro Hot 100. "I Don't Feel Like Dancin became the group's biggest hit to date.
Elton John also contributed to the song "Intermission" on Ta-Dah and played piano on a demo of the song Bad Shit (that can be found on the Lights CD single).